A nearly 200-foot-high pole that will collect wind speed and other weather information that could be used to build a power-generating wind turbine on the island soon will go up. The city's Zoning Board of Appeals on Thursday approved two variances clearing the way for its installation.

The pole, which will be nearly 75 feet taller than DeZwaan, is expected to be installed by the end of October. It will collect data for as long as 18 months to determine the feasibility of building an industrial-grade wind turbine on the island, said Mike Radakovitz, planning and engineering manager for the Holland Board of Public Works.

"We want to make sure before we spend that kind of money (for a wind turbine) that it makes economic sense," Radakovitz said. He estimates the cost of installing a turbine to generate power for the BPW at as much as $4 million.

The possibility of a wind turbine on the island is just one of several initiatives the BPW is considering to use renewable sources of electrical power. The ideas come as state lawmakers consider legislation requiring utilities to generate anywhere from 3.5 percent to 10 percent of their power output through wind, solar or other renewable sources by 2015.

The BPW also has asked the city to approve installation of three residential-size wind turbines on the east facade of the Civic Center. Each of the turbines, which cost about $11,000 and are made by Grand Rapids-based Cascade Engineering, would generate about 1.5 kilowatts of energy, Radakovitz said.

Another wind turbine that could generate 1.9 kilowatts of electricity is planned for a nearby parking lot along Seventh Street, Radakovitz said.

City Councilman Craig Rich likes the idea of the wind turbines at the Civic Center, but would like to see a more practical use for them, such as possibly powering its marquee.

"To me, that says a lot more (about its potential)," Rich said. "It gives you a sense of the end product."